Set up Office 365 for business

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Last updated 28 November, 2017

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These steps are for businesses and nonprofits that have the Office 365 Business Premium plan.

1. Plan your setup

Whether you want to set up Office 365 for only 1 person in your business or 10, we recommend spending a few minutes to plan your setup so there are no surprises.

1. Plan your setup. Find out what info you need on hand before you start, how to get help, and more.

2. Watch this overview video of the setup process.

 

2. Create accounts and add your domain

In this step, you use the Setup wizard to create Office 365 accounts for your users and add your own domain. The wizard lets you personalize everyone's user ID and email for your business, like rob@contoso.com.

1. Go to the Office 365 admin center.

   Go to the Office 365 admin center.

   Go to the Office 365 admin center.

2. To start the wizard, choose Go to setup.

To learn more, see Add users and domain to Office 365.

 

3. Install Office

Once everyone has an Office 365 account, they can install the full version of Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.) on their computer. Each person can install Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs.

1. Go to https://portal.office.com/OLS/MySoftware.

   If you're using Office 365 Germany, go to https://portal.office.de/OLS/MySoftware.

2. Sign in with your work or school account.

3. Choose Install.

Need more detailed steps or want to install the 64-bit version of Office? See Step-by-step installation instructions.

Import email

You can move your existing email and contacts from other email services to your Office 365 mailbox so you can see it all in one place.

There are different ways you can migrate your email data. For options, see Migrate email and contacts to Office 365.

Install Skype for Business

You and your team members can download and install Skype for Business on all your PCs, Macs, tablets, and phones. Then you'll be able to see the online status of your coworkers, start chats from other Office applications, and host video meetings with up to 250 people.

1. Go to https://portal.office.com/OLS/MySoftware.

   If you're using Office 365 Germany, go to https://portal.office.de/OLS/MySoftware.

2. Sign in with your work or school account.

3. Select Skype for Business and choose Install.

To learn more, see Install Skype for Business.

Set up mobile devices

Install Office on your mobile device, and set up Outlook to work with your new Office 365 mailbox. Each person with an account can install the Office mobile apps on up to 5 phones and 5 tablets. 

Get the steps for your device: Android | iOS | Windows Phone

Store files online

Office 365 makes online file storage easy. To learn which storage locations are best for your business, see Where you can store files in Office 365.

Everyone gets a OneDrive cloud storage location automatically when you create Office 365 accounts for them. With OneDrive, you can access files across your computers, phones, and tablets.

1. Go to https://www.office.com/signin.

   If you're using Office 365 Germany, go to https://portal.office.de.

2. On the Office 365 Home page, choose OneDrive.

3. Upload the files you want to store.

Get started using Office

To take a tour of Office 365 and learn how to use all the Office mobile apps, see How to get started using Office.

Use these steps to set up your Office 365 Business Essentials subscription. With this plan, you connect to Office 365 online. You don't install the Office apps.

1. Create Office 365 accounts and add your domain

In this step, you use the Setup wizard to create Office 365 accounts for your users and add your own domain. The wizard lets you personalize everyone's user ID and email for your business, like rob@contoso.com.

1. Go to the Office 365 admin center.

   Go to the Office 365 admin center.

   Go to the Office 365 admin center.

2. To start the wizard, choose Go to setup.

To learn more, see Add users and domain to Office 365.

2. Import email

Move your existing email and contacts from other email systems to your Office 365 mailbox so you can see it all in one place.

For migration options, Migrate email and contacts to Office 365.

3. Connect email accounts

In addition to managing your Office 365 email in Outlook, you can connect other email accounts to Outlook, too, such as your Gmail and Yahoo accounts. This lets you manage all of your email in one place. You can connect up to 5 email accounts to Outlook.

1. Sign in to Office 365 with your work or school account at www.office.com/signin.

   If you're using Office 365 Germany, sign in at https://portal.office.de.

2. Choose Mail.

3. On the Outlook navigation bar, select Settings > Options.

4. In the left pane, choose Mail, and under Accounts, choose Connected accounts.

   Not all features are available in every region. If you don't see the Connected accounts option, this feature may not be available for your account.

5. On the Connect your email account page, enter your full email address, such as rob@contoso.com, and the password of the email account you want to connect to Outlook.

6. Choose OK.

   IMPORTANT: If you get a message that Outlook couldn't connect to the server for your other account, choose Back and make sure you entered the correct email address and password for your account. Typos are really common!

Need more detailed steps or help? See Connect email accounts in Outlook on the web (Office 365).

4. Install Skype for Business

You and your team members can download and install Skype for Business on all of your PCs, Macs, tablets, and phones. Then you'll be able to see the online status of your coworkers, start chats from other Office applications, and host video meetings with up to 250 people.

1. Go to portal.office.com/OLS/MySoftware.

   If you're using Office 365 Germany, go to portal.office.de/OLS/MySoftware.

2. Sign in with your work or school account.

3. Select Skype for Business and choose Install.

5. Store files online

Office 365 makes online file storage easy. To learn which storage locations are best for your business, see Where you can store files in Office 365.

Everyone gets a OneDrive cloud storage location automatically when you create Office 365 accounts for them. With OneDrive, you can access files across your computers, phones, and tablets.

1. Go to www.office.com/signin.

   If you're using Office 365 Germany, go to https://portal.office.de.

2. On the Office 365 Home page, choose OneDrive.

3. Upload the files you want to store.

Get started using Office

To take a tour of Office 365 and learn how to use all the Office mobile apps, see How to get started using Office.

The Office 365 Business Plan plan does not include Office 365 email or Skype for Business. In these setup steps, we show you how to add your existing email account (such as Gmail) to Outlook.

1. Add users

In this step, you use the Setup wizard to create accounts and add your own domain. The wizard lets you personalize everyone's user ID and email for your business, like rob@contoso.com.

1. Go to the Office 365 admin center.

   Go to the Office 365 admin center.

   Go to the Office 365 admin center.

2. To start the wizard, choose Go to setup.

2. Install Office

Once you've created accounts for other people in your business, you and your team members will be able to install the full desktop version of Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.). Each person can install Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs.

1. Go to portal.office.com/OLS/MySoftware.

   If you're using Office 365 Germany, go to portal.office.de/OLS/MySoftware.

2. Sign in with your work or school account.

3. Choose Install.

Need more detailed steps or want to install the 64-bit version of Office? See Step-by-step installation instructions.

3. Set up mobile

Install Office on your mobile device, and set up Outlook to work with your new Office 365 mailbox. Everyone on your team will need to do this step. Each person can install the Office mobile apps on up to 5 phones and 5 tablets. 

Get the steps for your device: Android | iOS | Windows Phone

4. Store files online

Office 365 makes online file storage easy. To learn which storage locations are best for your business, see Where you can store files in Office 365.

Everyone gets a OneDrive cloud storage location automatically when you create Office 365 accounts for them. With OneDrive, you can access files across your computers, phones, and tablets.

1. Go to www.office.com/signin.

   If you're using Office 365 Germany, go to https://portal.office.de.

2. On the Office 365 Home page, choose OneDrive.

3. Upload the files you want to store.

Get started using Office

To take a tour of Office 365 and learn how to use all the Office mobile apps, see How to get started using Office.

These steps are for schools that want to start with the Office 365 Education plan that's set up with the default features.

Get ready for Office 365

• First, verify that you qualify for an education subscription    Follow the steps to add a record for your domain, so Office 365 can give you the go-ahead for using an education plan. Then you can get Office 365 set up for your school by following the guidance in this article.

• Get help?    If you want help with a more advanced deployment, FastTrack is a great place to start. You can also find a partner to help you.

• Plan    These tools and resources will help you get your network, directory, and users ready for Office 365: Get your organization ready for Office 365 Enterprise.

1. Add your school domain

In this step, you sign in to the Office 365 portal and add your school domain to your Office 365 subscription. This will verify to Microsoft that you qualify for an education subscription.

1. Go to the Office 365 admin center.

   Go to the Office 365 admin center.

   Go to the Office 365 admin center.

2. To start the wizard, choose Go to setup.

For a walkthrough of what happens when you run the wizard, see Using the Office 365 setup wizard.

Or, connect your directory

If you want to synchronize your users from an on-premises directory or use Single Sign-On, do not use the setup wizard to add users. Instead, read this guide to understand your options: Connect your directory to Office 365. You'll either set up:

• Synchronized identity. Synchronizes with an on-premises directory. You manage your users on-premises. You can also synchronize passwords so that the users have the same password on-premises and in the cloud, but they will have to sign in again to use Office 365.

• Federated identity. Synchronizes with an on-premises directory. You manage your users on-premises. Users can have the same password on-premises and in the cloud, and they do not have to sign in again to use Office 365. This is often referred to as single sign-on.

2. Set up services

Set up email, file sharing, instant messaging, and other Office 365 services and applications: Set up Office 365 services and applications.

In this step, you can install Office 365 on up to 5 PCs and laptops per person.

3. Migrate data

Once the services are configured, you can start migrating data, like email and files: Migrate data to Office 365.

If you use Student Information System (SIS) for your students and staff, learn about setting up SIS integration.

Train your users

Check out these resources to help people in your organization build confidence using Office 365:

• Get people using Office 365

• Get started with Class Notebook

Need help? We're here for you!

Admins, have your account details ready when you call Microsoft Office 365 Support.

• In the United States, call 1 800 865 9408.

• In Australia, call 1 800 197 503.

• In Canada, call 1 800 865 9408.

• In the United Kingdom, call 0800 032 6417.

For other countries, see Contact support for business products - Admin Help.

Get technical and billing support for Office 365 Germany.

Are you looking for set up for Office 365 Home or Office 365 Personal?

New to Office 365? Discover free video courses for Office 365 admins and IT pros, brought to you by LinkedIn Learning.